


The Hidden Truth

by RedHandedJill (FallenFurther)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Child Death, Child Murder, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Forced Labour, Freedom, Gen, Genetics, Murder, Past Violence, Running Away, Truth, Violence, Virus, slave labour, toil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:27:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22633483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenFurther/pseuds/RedHandedJill
Summary: This was written for the yearly Writing Competition on a forum for the game Age of Kings. It came second in the 2012 Writing competition.In a world were there is a gene that causes people to act violently and with not enough resources to investigate every case. Possible carriers are locked away from society. Tenesea is one such child. This is her story.





	The Hidden Truth

Another line was added to the tally. Tenesea sat back against the rough stone wall and stared at the flint she flicked between her fingers. She didn’t try to count the tally. There was no point. There must have been over a thousand marks on it, and even if she had the time she had never been taught to count. She studied the colours in the edges of the rock, waiting.

Her hall mates were up too, though no one talked. No one walked around either. They were all on their dirty mattresses, sitting or lying, as still as possible, enjoying the little comfort it gave them. Everyone was thin and uniform in bright orange jumpsuits. That’s how you could tell the newbies; fat or chubby, loud, obnoxious and full of life. Tenesea loved watching them. They had so much spirit. She’d always hope that they wouldn’t lose it, that they’d stay vibrant. But they would always break. This place and the wardens had a great way of breaking them. 

Tenesea was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped violently when the metal food trolley hit the bump outside her cell. She stared at the Feeder coldly, her body tense as her heart beat adrenaline round her body at a hundred miles an hour. The Feeder cackled. 

“Grubs up, you mangy rat.” He snarled with a cruel grin, throwing the metal bowl containing breakfast onto the floor, and swiftly moving along to laugh at the rest of the inmates. 

The bowl bounced before it hit Tenesea’s bare feet. She saw the joke in the Feeder’s words now. Her food was literally grubs up. The grubs were fat and squirming to get out the bowl. Tenesea crouched down and quickly put a handful in her mouth. They weren’t the tastiest meal she’d had in this place, but they were moist, and she knew they were full of nutrients and other stuff that would keep her strong and alive. She ignored the movement of the grubs in her mouth as she chewed and quickly collected up the grubs that had fallen out the bowl as it was thrown. She even reached through the bars and picked them out of the corridor. Any food she could get was good food and she polished off the bowl, just in time for the bell.

The bell signalled the arrival of the Supervisor. The Supervisor changed depending on where you were working that day. Yet no matter which one came they all wore the same attire, all with name badges, and all with a cane and a love of seeing people suffer. Today’s was a round, short man with a thick bamboo cane. His badge read ‘SIEVING SUPERVISOR’. With his appearance, the day had started and the whole hall, eating what they could, prepared for the routine. 

“ATTTTENTION!” he boomed and smiled at his power as he watched the inmates rush to the cell doors and stand like planks, holding their bowls in front of them. “Today you will be working at the brook that sweeps through the compound. You will each take a sieve and stand in the water sieving the sediment that flows through. If you are to find any gold, gemstones, ore or anything that is not found naturally then you are to take it to one of the four stations that are on the banks, IMMEDIATELY! For those who don’t know what a gemstone is it is a pretty rock that is coloured or see through. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Supervisor, Sir” chorused the inmates robotically. 

“Very well, the day has begun. Follow me, quickly, and don’t forget to put down your bowls.” And with that the Sieving Supervisor walked importantly down the hall and the doors automatically slid open. The hall mates quickly filed into the corridor, Tenesea included. Tenesea entered the corridor at the same time as the boy, Jared, in the opposite cell, and therefore knocked each other in the process. Tenesea acted like he didn’t exist and picked her pace up a tad, so she slipped in front of him. Her face remained cold and stone like, although inside she was smiling. She quickly slipped a hand into her bowl and scoffed the grubs that had magically appeared there. She was not the only one in the line finishing breakfast but was likely to be the only one to have a second helping. Most of the inmates hated the grubs and ate them out of need for food and energy. Most would be celebrating the fact that sieving is not strenuous and therefore did not need the energy, so were able to eat the minimum. Tenesea knew better. They were right in the fact that sieving is easy, but any easy tasks are often followed by the meanest heaviest tasks, and you were never told when they would start. 

As they filed out of the hall, they passed the Observer and the Collector. This is the point where you put your bowl, empty or full, on the Collector trolley. If you had not finished or were still hungry its tough luck and you live with it. The Observer followed behind the file and made sure nobody tried anything funny. As the group went through the last door of the compound and entered the outside Tenesea slipped her hand behind her back and shook her fist to Jared behind her. This was her way of saying ‘thank you’. Jared was a strict vegetarian so when meat was given, which it rarely was, he refused to eat it and, after risking talking in the hall, the two of them had worked out a system of transferring the food so it didn’t go to waste. 

It was still a little dark outside but from experience Tenesea knew the sun would be shining on them before they reached the brook. The group halted by a dusty vehicle as three Observers joined the file and the Supervisor got into the truck. The Supervisors always went in the car to the far-off sites. The group then marched on after being showered in dust. They marched for what felt like half a day to the site. 

The brook was located by one of the far walls of the compound just under the sandy mountains. The brook was about five metres wide and at its deepest it was knee deep. Only about one hundred and fifty metres of it flowed through the Facility and the bits that passed through the walls had bars across so there was no chance of escape. You could see the whole brook from the Supervisor’s post and any slacking was punished. Each individual was assigned an area to work in and was set to work. 

Tenesea and Jared were assigned adjacent areas and thus walked together to pick a sieve from the box. They both looked miserable, like everyone always did, but these two were happy inside. After selecting they got to work. They started apart so as not to raise suspicion as it is an unwritten rule in the Facility that talking was banned. The two of them were one of the few who dared to break the rule. Tenesea worked steadily, trying to remember the technique she had worked out to increase efficiency and reduce the toll on her body. It didn’t take long to get back into the rhythm of it and was soon humming to herself to stop her mind from getting bored. Sieving was the most boring work you could do at the Facility. The likelihood of you finding anything was small due to the fact that the brook was sieved daily and even if you did your reward was more sieving. One of the benefits of sieving was the unlimited water to drink. The water was often murky, and you got sand, grit and a stone in your teeth, but it is a lifesaver if you have just come from the Generator or Mines. It wasn’t rare that someone dies from exhaustion. 

As the day went on Tenesea’s mind started to wander. She liked to imagine what it was like outside the walls of the compound. She wondered what the houses were like and whether there were people who were nice and kind. She remembered little of the ‘real’ world. Tenesea thought back to her parents. She barely remembered them. She remembered the house with its soft floor, colourful walls and noise. She remembered playing with a ball on some grass and walking around while holding hands with her parents. But that is all. Her first word was spoken at the Institute. The Institute was nicer than this place. It was more like the house and you were allowed to talk and play. They had proper meals round the table and said grace. They always said the same grace. 

‘Dear Father,  
We pray that you bless the food that you have given us to eat.  
Please bless everyone round the table and help us to be kind and gentle.  
We thank you for our salvation.  
We pray that you keep us off the treacherous path that we have seen and grown up with.  
Lead us to be good honest citizens and away from hurting one another.  
Amen’ 

She had had friends at the Institute. They ranged in ages from two through to ten. There were Talkers there too, who had meetings with you and talked to you. They asked you how you felt and what you want to do; how you felt about the other children. They often asked who hurt you. It sounds bad and patronizing now but some of the children were violent. They would pinch, punch and fight. One kid killed another. Tenesea remembered finding the body. She had screamed. The next day she woke up in the Facility. She was still the youngest there now and had been there longer than most. About six years according to the lines. That is what Jared said anyway. He went to school, so he knew stuff. Jared was fifteen and had been at the Facility for over three years. He believed Tenesea was about eleven. Jared was here because he killed a classmate. The thing was he didn’t know why. He just killed his best friend. He had urges all the time to hurt people. He managed to suppress them most the time. He ended up here after talking to a doctor, who sounded similar to a Talker. Jared was also marked. He had a number engraved into his right arm. There was a random selection of a number each month. Jared was marked when he arrived. He was waiting his turn to die. 

A whistle awoke Tenesea from her thoughts. It was lunchtime. As she climbed up the bank, she saw an Observer pour a bag of monkey nuts into a trough. 

“Shoot!” She muttered running over to the trough and throwing herself down. Monkey nuts meant you had to work to get your food. And with a time limit, the amount of food you got depended entirely on how fast you could peel the nuts. A minute later it was a scramble around the trough with pushing, shoving and biting to reach the nuts. Tenesea was lucky, being small, and was at the front breaking nut after nut into her mouth. She knew she would have bruises in the morning, but she no longer cared. It took five minutes for all the nuts to be eaten and the inmates trudged back to their places and got stuck into the afternoons work. Most taking a good long drink to wash down lunch. Tenesea and Jared started closer this time and slowly worked towards each other. 

“It’s your birthday tomorrow.” Jared said not looking up from his sieve. 

“What? How do you know?” Tenesea exclaimed surprised that he had not commented about how everyone had been turned to savagery during the lunch commotion.

“The tally on your wall, silly. You star every birthday and mark every day. It looked like a lot had passed since the last star, so I counted it up. Tomorrow will be the three hundred and sixty fifth since your last.” He said with a grin on his face. 

“And there are three hundred and sixty-five days in a year!” Tenesea squealed quietly, grinning back.

“That means an extra bowl of breakfast. I’ll share it with you. Promise.”

“Only if it’s not meat ……. or your favourite.” He splashed some water at her. 

“Grubs are NOT my favourite! And watch it; I need to sleep in these tonight.” Tenesea had her jumpsuit legs rolled up around her thighs and Jared had almost got them.

“Sorry. I just had…..the feeling. Sorry. I couldn’t help it. They are getting worse.” Jared’s head was hung low because he knew she would never fully understand. He believed she didn’t have the urge like almost everyone else here did. He wished he could prove it. He knew they had a positive test on him, but he knew Tenesea would be marked if she was positive. They can’t afford to test everyone. But then Tenesea could be here for the right reasons. There are cases of the urge being dormant. They had a reason for putting her here in the first place. They had both seen adults in jumpsuits in the compound, but they never lasted long. Too much potential to fight back. There was a reason why the kids were kept alive longer. Jared itched his mark, his number. 

Tenesea saw and wanted to help. But all she could do was sieve. Sieve the silt that was washing past them. Doing a useless mundane task. One of the inmates ahead of them stopped work and headed to the bank.

“Hey! What do you think you are doing?” An Observer shouted.

“I found a bullet! A shiny bullet for a rifle. It’s so pretty.” The inmate held the bullet up, totally transfixed by it. The sun glinted off it, making Tenesea squint. The Observer quickly walked over and was given the bullet reluctantly. The cane of the Supervisor came down quickly on the back of the inmate and he tumbled down the bank. Coughing and spluttering the inmate got up and scowled at the Supervisor.

“That is how you treat the obnoxious ones. We do not want them to get any ideas.” He said smiling and pocketing the bullet. The inmate would have retaliated but the welt on his back and wet clothes were bad enough, without risking getting assigned to the Generator of a week or more.

Tenesea got back to work quickly. Not to try to find anything but to avoid getting any attention. The Supervisor had a taste for blood now. She worked further upstream for a bit, finding only stones. She did manage to find a lovely bit of rock that might work well on her wall when her flint is gone. She slipped it into the rip in the seam of her cuff. Jared had come to work near her. 

“Tenesea.” He whispered to get her attention. She looked at him and he tapped his knee. She tapped her right hand in response and dipped her sieve again. As she dug it into the soft sediment, she reached her hand behind her and felt Jared push something hard into her palm. 

“Happy Birthday.” He smiled as moved a little further away.

Tenesea curled her hand strangely to keep the object from falling out as she continued to sieve and move closer to the bank, so she was more hidden from the Observers. When no one was looking she peeked at her hand. In it was a small clear rock. Jared had given her a diamond! It was the most extreme thing you could do. If you got caught it would mean instant death. Tenesea had three options. One, she could claim she found it, but would hurt Jared’s feelings. Considering he was her only friend; it wasn’t an option. Two, she could drop it for someone else to find. This was viable. Though if it was found today and Jared realised it was the same diamond, then he would be hurt. Especially because it occurred to her he found it a while ago and was waiting for a time to give it to her. It explained him pointing out it was her birthday before his usual comment. Option three would be to keep it and hide it in her cell. This was her favourite. She wanted to examine it closely. She couldn’t help but be curious about it. She knew so little about the world. Tenesea slipped it in with the other rock and went on working. She only had a few hours of work left. 

As the sun started to set there was some commotion on the bank. Everyone looked up. There was an inmate and all Observers talking with the Supervisor. This wouldn’t have been strange if it weren’t for the fact that every other inmate was being ignored. The female inmate who was standing there looked a little nervous, obviously of being beaten, but was outside the ring of officials. They were discussing something and looking at the brook every now and again. Tenesea, like the others, followed their gaze. They weren’t looking at the brook at all. They were looking at Jared. Fear overcame Tenesea. Her only friend was in the firing line and she knew why. She subconsciously itched where the rock and gem touched her skin. She barely registered the whistle when it was blown. 

“ATTENTION! Work is over for today. All of you line up ready to go back.” He bellowed, then looking at Jared, “except you, boy. You are coming with me.”

Tenesea made her way to the line, watching Jared the whole way. She wasn’t the only curious one. As they lined up, they watched as Jared was handcuffed and put in the back of the car with an Observer. The car drove off and the group were marched back to their cells.

Back in her cell Tenesea sat on her mattress and worried. She took out the rock and tried to draw on the floor. It made a line so put it with her flint. She looked around nervously, and then hid in the very corner of her cell. She slipped out the diamond. It caught the light nicely and was see through, just like the Supervisor said. It did have a brown colouring to it which she found curious. She was glad she kept it, for the time being, it was really pretty. She would enjoy getting it out every now and again. She hid it in her cell so no one could find it and curled up to sleep. Even with the knot of worry in her stomach, the day’s events had tired her out and she quickly fell into a dreamless sleep. 

Tenesea woke up as usual the next morning and marked another tally. As she remembered the last day’s events she looked into Jared’s cell. Her eyes widened when she saw him there, breathing. He was still alive! Tenesea crawled to the front of the cell to get a better look. He was definitely breathing but had not come back unscathed. His body was littered with deep purple bruises, and there were even some scratches. As he woke up, he turned to her and she could see he had a black eye and split lip. They had tortured him. He would be working in the Generator today. Tenesea felt sorry for him. He did it all for her. 

The usual clanking of the food trolley came. The Feeder stopped outside Tenesea’s cell and scowled at her. She had forgotten it was her birthday.

“Two bowls for the birthday girl.” He said in a mocking voice and threw the bowls of porridge at her. She hated porridge and didn’t feel like eating, but she ate instinctively. Scooping it off her lap and the floor but saving a bowl for Jared. She put one inside the other as the men came.

“ATTTENTION!” The whole hall stood to, except the battered Jared who could barely stand. 

The Sieving Supervisor came into view and stopped outside Tenesea’s and Jared’s cells. This certainly was not a birthday visit. A woman came into view and one look at her badge was bad news. Tenesea had learnt to read basic words at the Facility, thanks to the name badges, but this one was one that put fear and dread into everyone. Tenesea wanted to vomit when she read the word;

‘Executioner’

“Well, well, well.” She chuckled, looking directly at Jared, “looks like you won’t be going to the Generator after all. It’s your lucky day. You won the lottery.” 

With that two Guards unlocked Jared’s cell and each took an arm. Jared winced as they touched him, and they dragged him out the cell. The Executioner walked ahead of them. As Jared passed by, he mouthed to her ‘Get out, run’ and then he was gone. 

The rest of the cells opened, and the inmates trudged off to the brook. Tenesea was on automatic mode the whole day. She knew she would never see Jared again. She knew she had to escape. Her mind was now set on it. She had to do it. It was Jared’s dying wish. She was still thinking of a way to escape on the way back when she noticed more cars in the Facility than usual. Some were less dusty than others; they must come from beyond the Facility. This got her thinking hard. Tomorrow might be the now or never. She went to bed that night thinking of the world beyond the wall and fell asleep crying. 

Tenesea marked another line on the wall. There was a star by the previous one and she put a dot by the new one. She went over to the corner and slipped the diamond into her ripped cuff. Breakfast was porridge and they were off to the brook again. On the way Tenesea noticed there were even more new cars today than there were last night. 

Tenesea worked as usual at the brook. She worked all morning waiting in apprehension for lunchtime. Lunchtime was the most laid-back time and should be the easiest to slip away from unnoticed. Tenesea was so anxious that it was a relief when she heard the whistle screech. 

As she climbed up the bank, she saw everyone rushing to the peanuts that were being put in the trough. She ran with everyone else but went around to the other side and grabbed a hand full of nuts and sat back. She ate them quickly away from the trough and scanned the Observers. They were gathering for their lunch. Only one was watching them. She dived back in to get some more and as she remerged the Observer looked away. With that she legged it backwards, and nipping behind a shack, pressing her back to it. All the other inmates were too busy feeding to notice. She quickly ate the nuts and, taking a huge leap of faith, bolted to a rocky ridge and ducked behind it. She took a breather quickly. Tenesea listened. There was no change in noises so no one must have noticed. 

Tenesea was truly exhilarated now. She kept low and moved towards the path. She knew that no one would be using it at this time. Once on it she ran as fast as she could to put as much distance between her and the brook. She soon slowed as the main buildings came into sight. As she neared the courtyard, she moved off the path and crouched among the rocks. She found a spot with a clear view of the vehicles. She watched for a few minutes. She studied the people moving about. They were far from the gate so there was no permanent guard. She soon realised she had a very small window in which to get in one of the new cars. She had to pick the right moment. A whole group of officials moved across the way and disappeared. This was the best chance she had seen in a while. Tenesea took a deep breath and jumped over the rocks. Keeping low she scuttled towards the cars. 

The first she came to was a blue one. She tried the doors, but they were locked. She tried the silver one, but it was locked. She kept going with little success, getting more and more worried. As she heard voices enter the courtyard the back door of a black car opened. She quickly slipped inside and shut herself in. The voices walked straight past the car. Tenesea let out a sigh and looked around the small space. Being small meant she fitted well in the foot space. She took the blanket that was lying across the seats and covered herself. She then prepared herself to wait for the driver. She fell asleep under the comfort of the blanket. 

Tenesea woke with a start as the car went over a bump. She dared to take a peep out the blanket. There was music on and buildings going past the windows. Strange new buildings. She was out of the compound! She could hear some of the bustle from outside. She put her head away and tried to contain her excitement, though she still had to get out the car. She relaxed and tried to think. After a while of fruitless thinking her problem was sorted. 

“Darn! I thought I’d be able to get home, and fuel is so expensive here.” A voice said to itself. The car stopped a few minutes later and the person got out. Peeking through the blanket, Tenesea watch the man fill up the car and then go to pay. The minute he was out of sight she threw the blanket off and threw the door open. She quickly hopped out and quietly closed the door. She walked away as quickly as she could while trying to fit in, forgetting she was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. She managed to get out of sight of the driver before he came back. She had done it. She was free.

But now what? Tenesea thought, as she walked down the street taking everything in. It was better than she imagined. It was bright, colours everywhere and so many people. There were shops with things in. That’s all she could describe them as. She had never seen most of it before. She looked at a window full of clothes. All different colours and none of them jumpsuits! The next shop caught her eye. It had lots of the same person in. Exactly the same person but only part of them. She had to go in. She went in and examined the person.

‘……The Government are not giving too much away but they say that the original virus has been contained…..’

The person was flat, or at least as wide as a hand.

‘……the gene that the virus put into the host apparently causes extreme violence in the host, in some cases this includes the murder of family, friends…….’

And she was only visible on one side and the voice came out holes.

‘…….cases of the gene passing from parent to child is apparently common. The gene is thought to be dominant but can be dormant for years……’

If she looked closer the person was made of dots.

‘……children and adults with the gene have been detained, the Government says, and they say they have found a new quick and relatively cheap way to test for the gene instead of the expensive genome sequencing…..’

“Excuse me.” Tenesea looked up at a smartly dressed woman, confused, “If you’re not going to buy anything please could you leave.” Tenesea nodded and started to leave.

‘….not all the cases of the gene have been confirmed due to lack of funds……’

Tenesea was still bemused and continued walking down the street, looking into shops and thoroughly enjoying freedom. At the end of the street was an area full of kids. Climbing, jumping and all happy. It looked like fun. Tenesea was soon in the area climbing and swinging in her jumpsuit. She forgot about the Facility, the work and even Jared. It was just her and the fun. She had never had so much energy. She jumped off the frame and climbed up again, copying the other kids. She lost track of time. She didn’t notice it getting dark. She didn’t notice the sirens until they stopped outside the area. Then men with guns came out of the cars. Tenesea took one look and saw she was doomed. But she didn’t want to go back. She saw Jared in her head mouth his last word. Run. 

Tenesea ran. She jumped off the frame and ran as fast as she could. People started running around her, after her. She didn’t look back, only forward as she ran around the corner and down a side street. They were gaining on her. Shouting at her to stop. But she was scared. She bolted around the corner and collided with something. 

A strange man looked down on her. Tenesea was scared until he picked her up and put her on her feet. She could tell he was baffled by her jumpsuit and her scared face. He hugged her and she clung onto him, bursting into tears. 

“POLICE! Please, Sir. Step away from the fugitive.” The men yelled, as they came around the corner and pointed their guns at Tenesea. 

“Wait. Officer, this child is scared beyond belief, I should know, I’m a psychiatrist. Now let me transport the child to where she needs to be, and I can try and calm her down. She’ll be less hostile that way.” The man answered. Tenesea was surprised but relieved when the policemen agreed, and the man took her to their car. He sat in the back with her and cuddled her all the way back to the Facility. She could tell he was surprised but he figured out that she was one of the children with urges. He still didn’t let go or leave her at the Facility. He even took his case in. He held her hand the whole time. There were lots of officials around and they soon stopped him.

“I’m sorry but we are going to have to dispose of her. She is too much of a liability now. We can’t have her escape and kill again.” Tenesea hugged the man hoping he could get her out of this. 

“Can I at least have a chat with her? See if we can get her to settle down and maybe sort this out without resorting to death?” The officials turned and muttered. Once they had finished, they turned around to face them. 

“Fifteen minutes. That is all.” And they were led to a room and left alone at a table. 

The man put his case on the table and got a box out of it. He opened it and started setting stuff up.

“Okay, I have one last chance to get you out of here, but you have to co-operate with me okay?” Tenesea nodded. She had nothing to lose. “Good” he said reading some paper. “I need you to chew your cheeks for me. Like this. That’s it, good. Do that for a bit.” He started putting different coloured water into pots as Tenesea chewed her cheeks. She felt kind of funny doing it. The man held out a pot to her.

“Spit what you’ve been chewing into here okay? Good girl. Okay, this is a test to see if you are one of these gene children. If at the end the solution is green, you are normal, and we can get you out of here and get you some help. We won’t think about what happens if it is red, shall we?”

Tenesea shook her head. She would be the Executioner’s entertainment.

“While I do this can you tell me about your life? What they do here? What the others are like? So, I can get a feel of the background. It might help.”

She looked at him. Should she tell? She couldn’t get into any more trouble if she did. So, she told him everything while he mixed bits and bobs. She told him about her parents, the Institute and the Facility. She told him about the work, about the Mines, Generator, Sieving and the Brick Making. She told him about the inmates, the Observers, the Supervisors and, of course, all about Jared. She told him it all. She even showed him the diamond. She was just finishing as the door opened.

“Times up.” The guard said, walking over to Tenesea. “Time for you to meet the Executioner. She is so looking forward to seeing you.” He cackled as he started leading her away. Tenesea realised the man couldn’t help her now and accepted her fate. 

“Just five more minutes, just for the test to be complete.” The man pleaded. He never got an answer. The door shut and Tenesea was led down the corridor. It wasn’t long till they reach the door labelled ‘Execution’. Tenesea was led into the large room. It was full of different ways of murder. She was frightened and rubbed the diamond she still had in her hand. 

“Take her onto the stage and set up the noose” Said the unforgiving voice that sent a chill down Tenesea’s spine. The Executioner was hungry.

*********

Back in the room the man sat down and shook the test vial. He sighed. He had no proof that could stop them except the girl’s testimony that she didn’t kill the other child. No matter how much he wanted to believe her, he couldn’t. He expected the test to be positive for the gene. There is a reason she was taken to the Institute in the first place. She was liable to have the gene. He put the vial on the table and started packing the stuff away. He hesitated when the time came to put the vial away. There should be a result now. He picked it up and froze. 

The vial was green! She was normal. She didn’t have the violent gene.

He let go of his case and ran to the door. He threw it open and sprinted down the corridor, muttering ‘She’s innocent’ under his breath, hoping, praying he wasn’t too late. He pushed open the door to the ‘Execution’.

*********

Tenesea looked forward at the people who had scared and ruled over her for most her life as the door beneath her feet gave way. With a sensation of flying she thought of Jared, clutching the diamond in her hand. 

*********

No one saw it. No one saw the small clear stone slip from the fingers of the girl. It hit the ground with a ping, bouncing once and rolled along the floor, beneath the stage. It fell down a crack in the floor and was lost forever. Its existence hidden just like that of its innocent admirer.


End file.
